Mom Next Door, Kathleen Palley

Kathleen is the founder of the new Sacramento Children’s Museum in Rancho Cordova. She lives in Roseville with her husband, John Palley, an estate planning attorney, and their two kids: Michael (8) and Emily (7).

Kathleen founded the non-profit back in 2004, after the family’s inspiring first trip to the Children’s Museum in Denver. “My husband googled ‘things to do with kids in Denver’ and found it.” She remembers being skeptical. (Their son was just 14 months then.) But they gave it a try. “The minute we walked in the door, we started oohing and aahing,” she recalls.

A vision took shape. “I e-mailed everyone I knew and asked if anyone else wanted to start a children’s museum in Sacramento.” The response, she says, was overwhelming. “Immediately my in-box was full with people wanting to get involved,” she says.

“This children’s museum is truly a grassroots effort! There is the popular saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ Well the same could be said of starting a children’s museum!”

The secret to happiness is…
a good sense of humor and a bad memory!

My favorite part of being a parent is…
hearing what my kids have to say each day. When my hubby comes home each day, I can hardly wait to tell him all the cute stories.

The toughest part is…
explaining to our kids why shopping with Mommy and Daddy is just different than shopping with Grandma. Grandmas have a way of making every day a “shopping day.”

Nothing makes me laugh like…
getting in my car during the day and seeing my dashboard covered in little post-it notes with reminders of the things I still need to do that day.

When I need to relieve stress, I head straight for…
the Good Hands massage people at the mall.

One of my proudest moments (so far) was…
when I showed my son Michael the museum’s temporary office space and he said, “This is your office? I am so proud of you.”

When it comes to quality time with my family, I love…
our weekly Sunday breakfasts at The Original Pancake House in Roseville.

Hardly anybody knows…
my birth name is actually Jeri Kathleen.

I am currently addicted to…
Diet Coke.

The best decision I ever made was…
going to the Active 20/30 National Convention in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was there that I met my husband, John. He was in the Men’s Club in Sacramento, and I was in the Women’s Club in Sacramento, but we had never met. I think it’s pretty funny that I had to go all the way to Arizona to meet someone who lived just 10 minutes away from me.

Do you know a great local mom you’d love to introduce to other readers? Why not nominate her? E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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